Physics Department News
Predictable aspects of the variable likelihood of extreme space weather events
Solar activity drives Earth鈥檚 space weather. Each solar cycle has a different intensity but we found cycle invariant properties constraining the chance of space storms which affect systems at Earth.
The ability to precisely visualize the atomic geometry of the interactions between a drug and its protein target in structural models is critical in predicting the correct modifications in previously identified inhibitors to create more effective next generation drugs. We have combined VR visualization with fast algorithms for simulating intramolecular motions of protein flexibility, in an effort to further improve structure-led drug design by exposing molecular interactions that might be hidden in the less informative static models.
We construct a class of two-dimensional (2D) phosphorus allotropes by assembling a previously proposed ultrathin metastable phosphorus nanotube into planar structures in different stacking orientations. Three of them are dynamically stable semiconductors with strain-tunable band gaps and intrinsic piezoelectricity. This may have potential applications in nanosized sensors, piezotronics, and energy harvesting in portable electronic nanodevices.